


Movie Night

by BadBlond099



Series: Jason Todd; Teen Titan? [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, IT - Stephen King, Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Hood/Arsenal (Comics), Teen Titans - All Media Types, Under the Red Hood
Genre: Beep Beep Jason, Beep Beep Richie, Cass can talk, Cass can talk just not well, Cass uses sign language, Dirty Language, Gen, Healthy Food, Healthy Food Sounds Nasty..., It Chapter One Spoilers, Minor Angst, Minor references to past abuse, Movie Night, Nostalgia, Swearing, Sympathetic Connections, Underage Drinking, bad words, said references are all within range of cannon for Mia Dearden, the movie not the book
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-02-08 12:23:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21475963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadBlond099/pseuds/BadBlond099
Summary: On a rare night when the whole team has no prior obligations to worry about, the Teen Titans decide to enjoy a movie together. A tiny misunderstanding leads to the wrong movie being rented.
Relationships: Cassandra Cain & Kon-El | Conner Kent, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson/Koriand'r, Mia Dearden & Jason Todd
Series: Jason Todd; Teen Titan? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1547974
Comments: 7
Kudos: 22





	Movie Night

**Author's Note:**

> This is directly tied into "Probation," but I think there's enough detail in it that it's not totally necessary to read "Probation" in order to enjoy it.
> 
> For everyone who IS reading "Probation," this has been posted as a separate thing due to it being released out of order and because it's a sort of mundane moment between things in the story.
> 
> Anywho, further explanation at the bottom. One quick warning here.
> 
> SPOILER ALERT! THE PLOT TO THE 2017 "IT" MOVIE IS MENTIONED IN DETAIL IN THIS STORY! IF FOR WHATEVER REASON YOU HAVEN'T SEEN IT AND DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS, DON'T READ IT!
> 
> And if you haven't seen It because the thought freaks you out, don't worry, my explanations are pretty tame. Just know that they are based on the actual film, not a fake version of it for the sake of the story.

It was difficult to say how it had started, but one thing was for certain: It had happened, and It had done its damage.

Cassandra had requested a movie night after Jason explained the novelty of film to her, and no one wanted to deprive her of the simple pleasure she’d already gone so long without experiencing.

Why Kori had to pick up the movie was beyond anyone’s understanding.

Some matter of coincidence led to the rest of the team being preoccupied the day before the promised movie night. Even Victor had been called out to help the League, so he couldn’t access a movie from whatever infinite databases he had access to.

“So, what’s the movie for the night?” Jason asked. He’d been put on popcorn duty and had been a little reluctant upon finding that the Titans’ kitchen was stocked with nothing but a butter-less, generic version of Jiffy-Pop. The box promised that it was gluten free and “contained zero animal products” (meaning that it was Beast Boy who had picked it out). The only mercy was the special popcorn-butter-spray that was in the cabinet nearby (more than likely a contribution from Jaime). The faux-Jiffy-Pop container rattled while he swirled it in slow, steady circles per the instructions he’d read over and over again—after a few minutes of endless swirling, he felt the nagging desire to check those instructions again, as if perhaps they were lying to him.

Dick had only arrived a couple minutes earlier and he went right to the entertainment room to help with setup. Kori was humming around the couches, placing a couple of extra chairs to accommodate everyone being there at once. Dick was too busy admiring her too tight skirt to hear Jason’s question. “Uh huh.” Jason followed Dick’s line of sight and whistled loud enough to make the beautiful alien straighten up and look over at them, her emerald green eyes sparkling in the evening light. She blew a kiss and her boyfriend growled as Jason winked at her. “You’re an ass.”

“And your brain’s balls fucking deep into one,” Jason retorted. Cassie had been watching from the kitchen island and signed something at Jason, a question clear on her face. “Yeah, that’s what I said, Cass. And you can glare all you want, you know it’s true.” He redirected his attention to Dick, ignoring the dull soreness in his arm from swirling the popcorn container without stopping. He needed some sort of stimulus to avoid the remaining desire to check the instructions again. “I asked you what movie you guys brought? And I swear, if you say some Disney thing or one of those chick-flicks you’re fucking obsessed with—”

“It.”

The abrupt answer caught Jason off guard. “Come again?”

One big accident.

Dick explained how the selection had happened while continuing to scribble out names onto red solo cups with a fat sharpie. “I was just getting off work when Bruce called. He needed me to look into something near my place. I didn’t bother to tell him I had other plans. You know how he gets.” There was an eyeroll shared between all three occupants of the kitchen. “ Anyways, I really miss rental places. They used to love me at blockbuster. Something about sleeping weird hours and renting the same movies over and over again apparently built up a friendly banter. These rental box machines? So impersonal.”

Jason scoffed. Rental boxes were a source of hours of amusement back when it was just him and Roy. The tinkering archer had, of course, hacked them rather than ever paying for anything—not that either of them really could pay since their respective rich mentors had them cut off thoroughly by making them legally dead—but that way, when business was slow, they’d kick back at their safehouse with a couple beers and whatever simple recipe Jason could dig up for whatever food scraps Roy had bought with their last payoff, and watch a few of the latest blockbusters. If they had to rely on rental stores, those opportunities wouldn’t have been available.

“I reserved a movie on my phone at the place near the Tower and told Kori to use our joint account card to pick it up. Lo and behold, she took that last part literally.”

Cassie looked between the two of them, biting her lip nervously, certain that she had misunderstood something.

“He’s saying—”

POP!

The words caught in Jason’s throat as the popcorn container finally began to do what it was supposed to. He hastened the pace as it popped more and more. What began as relief over it finally functioning correctly quickly soured as the popping grew faster and louder, the twisted foil covering the container unraveling as it filled with its promised snack.

Only, was it just him, or was it swelling a little too much?

“Ah!” Cassie squeaked out, wincing as the popping reached a point of alarming volume and abundance. “Aahh!”

Jason took the container off of the stove and dropped it on the counter. His hand drew back quickly, as if the handle he’d been holding it with was suddenly as hot as the stove. He and Cassie both stared at the bulbous foil orb that now sat on the counter. It popped a couple more times before finally ceasing.

“Haven’t you made Jiffy-Pop before?” Dick asked, a shit-eating grin splitting his face. “That’s so cute.”

Flipping Dick off seemed like it wasn’t enough, so Jason threw a fork at him as well. If he had been a normal person, that might have been dangerous, but Dick’s reflexes were honed by Batman and years of acrobatics. Catching the handle of the fork was impressive only in that Dick did it without even looking up. He then proceeded to use it; bringing it over to the popcorn and prying the foil open from the hole where steam was spilling out. “You’ll want to use the spray while it’s still hot.”

Jason muttered a few things under his breath that made Cassie’s face contort with disgust as it often did when the obscenities that Jason strung together painted a particularly nasty image. 

Letting Dick apply generous amounts of the butter spray, Jason set another pack of popcorn on the still-hot stove, restarting the whole process as if he hadn’t just had a minor panic attack over the last one. Dick handed the completed product to Cassie, who tentatively plucked a single piece and popped it in her mouth. She smiled so sweetly that Jason and Dick’s little spat was quickly forgotten.

“It, huh? Isn’t that, like, four hours long? You really want Cass’s first cinematic experience to be four hours of cheesy 90’s horror?”

“They redid the movie. It’s brand new.” Dick was oddly defensive for a guy who didn’t like horror movies. “And Kori tried really hard, okay?”

“She took your directions too literally and you didn’t correct her,” Jason stated. “Whatever. It’d better be good at least. Nothing less than the best for Cass.”

The team slowly trickled in over the next half hour. In that time Jason and Cassie never got used to the way that the popcorn popped and Dick had taken to teasing them mercilessly, all the while knowing that he was in for it when the movie started.

Damian was the last to arrive; he had been visiting the Manor for the last few days. In spite of the tough front that he showed everyone at the Tower, the moment he settled into a spot on the couch he flipped through pictures of Titus, Alfred (the cat, of course), and Bat-Cow for Cassie to look at. When it came up that she had never actually seen a cat or dog before meeting Damian’s pets, Beast Boy quickly morphed into a fluffy green Pomeranian and boldly curled up in her lap, eliciting some jealous sounds from Conner.

“Todd! Load the film into the player,” Damian demanded in his usual authoritative manner.

Jason scoffed and brought him the butter-less batch of popcorn as a gesture of spite (a hollow effort as he was unaware of the fact that Damian was a devout vegan). Dog-Beast Boy nestled himself between Cassie and Damian so that he could steal pieces. Dick passed out cups of soda while Jason found the rental case and loaded the disk.

Because it was a rental disk, there were minimal previews for movies that had already been released, then a screen showing a red balloon with an eerie clown face visible through it. Jason had chosen a spot on the floor in front of the spot on the couch where Mia had gotten comfortable, her legs tucked up at her side. She had been thoughtlessly running her fingers through Jason’s hair when the menu screen popped up, which allowed her to feel the slight flinch upon seeing the clown. Before she could ask if he was okay, Kori voiced her concerns. “I do not understand. I had believed this was a movie with the singing and the cartoons.”

“That’s because you were supposed to pick up a copy of Mulan,” Dick clarified.

Wally scoffed at the thought. “What are we, four? This’ll be way better!”

“You’re just saying that because of the R rating,” Jaime teased. Having just turned seventeen, he barely made the cut to see R rated movies in theaters and he was proud to hold that claim over the younger Titans as often as he could. “In fact, better hit the sack, Damian. This movie’s probably a little too mature for you.”

The little Robin clicked his tongue in that way that he did to express his annoyance. “I have seen more violence and heard more language than you ever will, Reyes.” The way that he spat out Jaime’s last name betrayed a little more anger at the suggestion that he was too young, earning him a reassuring pat on the head from Cassie. Damian’s face lit up from embarrassment as the others snickered (Jason even going as far as mumbling something about his ‘babysitter’ again, which resulted in a hard kick to the ribs).

“Enough waiting,” Donna piped, kicking up the footrest in the recliner seat throne she’d laid claim to. “Let’s get to some screaming.” She eagerly ate her popcorn and Raven, floating in her usual meditative position next to her, cracked the slightest of smiles to show her agreement and snatched a bite of popcorn for herself.

Dick picked up the remote and let the movie play.

The first scene had been an interesting one to get through. The more squeamish members of the team were all but screaming when the sewer-clown bit little Georgie’s arm off and dragged him down below. The more morbid members laughed. And Raven, calm as always, wasn’t even wearing her earlier smile. Mia, however, had taken notice of another miniscule movement in Jason at the initial appearance of the clown. It began to cross her mind that, given his experience, he may actually have a valid fear of clowns. In a subtle attempt at consolation, she let her legs hang down on either side of him and compressed him a little whenever she felt him tense.

Jason wasn’t the only one feeling a little too personally attacked by the film. Dick felt a sad solidarity with stuttering-Bill. The fear of losing a sibling to some dark entity…He found himself looking at Jason often, grateful that he and Kori had chosen to sit behind the couch (though the spot was initially chosen so that they could make out while the “kids” had their movie night) so his fellow foster brother wouldn’t notice the furtive glances.

Soon after, Beast Boy felt a little too much sympathy for Big Ben; being the outcast who was picked on for the way that he looked and chased around by some particularly nasty bullies.

Jaime and Wally both felt a connection to Stanley, who was picked on just for his heritage.

Donna, amused as she was by the creepy aspects, felt a kinship with little Sick Eddie who was coddled too much by his mother.

Even Damian fidgeted a bit uncomfortably when Mike was forced by his grandfather to slaughter the livestock on the farm.

But it was Beverly Marsh who really rang the bell. Her situation as a whole; picked on by other girls, acting out to get attention, the dark and abusive relationship with her father…Mia shuddered whenever Beverly went through something difficult. Jason, returning the favor she’d extended to him, wrapped a hand around her knee and leaned his head against it gently, offering her leg an understanding hug and a soft squeeze whenever she tensed as well.

The nice thing about the characters they sympathized with was how they seemed to come together so well. The Losers’ Club felt a lot like the Titans, and that was enough to show that they were all supportive no matter what.

“Dude, that Richie kid almost swears as much as you do, Red,” Beastboy joked while the quick-talker tried to give some explanation for the others’ collective hallucination in the garage.

“Pussy-ass mother fucker’s got nothing on me.” Jason had hoped to hold onto that lighthearted moment of triumph, but then the scene changed. The projector that the kids had been using started to act strangely. A picture of Billy’s mother seemed to move slowly, red hair blowing into her face…

…until it wasn’t her face…

The air in the room grew pregnant with the collective tension as everyone recognized the clown materializing in the picture.

Then it was gone.

Breaths hitched in the room in the short second before the clown reappeared, huge and terrifying, reaching out of the projection to attack the kids. Jason choked on air and Mia’s hand got caught in his hair, making him panic. It was all she could do to hold him in place and carefully untangle her fingers to resume stroking him soothingly until the kids in the movie shed light by opening the garage door and the clown vanished for real this time.

“Jay? You okay?” Dick asked, having noticed the extreme reaction.

“Are you?” Conner asked with a smirk, mercifully keeping Jason from having to come up with some lie to tell Dick. “You can’t hide from these eyes, Grayson. The only people who didn’t jump were Cass and Raven, and you of all people actually hopped out of your seat!” It wasn’t clear if Conner had purposely tried to divert attention from Jason’s panic attack—no doubt his super hearing could pick up on his racing heart—but whatever the reason, Jason was grateful for the save.

As everyone readjusted to continue the movie, Mia sank to the floor next to Jason and pulled his arm over her shoulders so that she could lean against his chest. He put up no resistance and she didn’t say a word. Everyone else seemed to be too enamored with the movie to pay them any mind, not that any comments would have been welcomed anyways.

The two of them had gotten a lot closer as of late. The reason was a secret night shared between just the two of them. He showed his vulnerability to her. She showed her vulnerability to him. After that a sort of affection had sparked forth from their sympathies for each other. Sitting through a movie that poked at those weaknesses gave them an opportunity to grow a little closer.

Maybe it wasn’t that their intimacy had gone unnoticed, but that it was quietly being encouraged. Jason was, after all, opening up quite a bit for the team as of late. Steps taken, as they all knew, so that Batman would finally recognize him as he was and not as just another threat. Mia, on the other hand, remained as thorny as ever, unwilling to accept the need for a team or taking the time to train her ability to work with others. The only others she ever wanted to work with were Oliver Queen, Dinah Lance-Queen, and Connor Hawke; a fact she had made plain the first day she’d been introduced to the Tower. Her convictions hadn’t changed.

She wasn’t a bad teammate, but she was difficult to keep up with, impossible to read, and stubbornly self-reliant. However, when trouble arose at the Tower, Jason (of all people), had proven essential to save everyone, and Mia had worked surprisingly well with him. The natural chemistry was hard to miss. But as long as they were helping each other, no one dared to question it…

…Of course, there was also the unspoken truth that either one of them might react violently to being teased about it…

After the projector jump-scare, it became easier to anticipate the clown’s on-screen moments. The kids’ story became more central than the entity’s. Their companionship shone through each challenge they faced, and they embraced the simple joys of childhood in the summertime.

The air in the room at that point was mixed.

Many of the Titans didn’t have these sort of childhood memories, and typically for very extreme reasons. The loneliness of isolation. The loss of family members. The cruelty of a savage mother. The savagery of a demon father. The abuse dealt from men. The enslavement resulted from family betrayal. The all-around struggle just to survive, only to come up short.

What few of them who had been allowed at least something of a childhood had also had it ripped away rather jarringly before being thrust unwillingly into the uncertain world of capes and masks.

When the movie wasn’t jabbing at everyone’s insecurities, it was addressing their deepest, darkest fears.

The worst of it came during another Beverly Marsh scene. When she first discovered the locks on the door, Mia sucked in a breath. Then her father started asking if she was still “his girl.”

The tension in the scene was enough to make everyone hold their breath a little, but in Mia’s case, it was hitting way too close to home. The comment about Beverly’s hair pushed Mia to the breaking point. Jason could feel her shaking. Ignoring everyone else, he got up only to get on his knees in front of her and put his hands over her ears. “Look at me,” he said softly. “Just look at me. Don’t do anything else. I’ve got you. You’re here. Stay with me. You’re here. You’re here.”

No one had a word to say about what was happening, and for that Jason was once again grateful. Some trauma didn’t need an audience. He made sure that her wide, green eyes were locked with his. They focused, her pupils slowly dilating as he continued to speak to her. The movie played in the background and Jason kept an ear trained on it for signs of the situation ending.

That was the first time that Mia had really looked at Jason’s eyes. She had seen the rest of him, however accidentally, and had become acquainted with his many scars. He’d even allowed her to trace over the ones he was most ashamed of: the ones the Joker had given him. Looking at him now, she couldn’t believe how striking his eyes were. Such a dazzling blue with almost luminous green flecks dusted through them. A beautiful effect created when he had been raised from the Lazarus Pit. Another mark to show the dark history of his life, and yet, just like the rest of him, they had come out of it and had become something new and incredible. Something that took her breath away. Those were eyes that she feared she might get lost in.

Jason’s hands moved away from her ears and he smiled. “Sounds like it’s over. You made it through. It’s all good.”

Mia bit her bottom lip and nodded, feeling as if some sort of spell had been broken the moment he turned away from her. He settled back in at her side and she felt herself purposely straining to avoid his warmth, suddenly very aware of his closeness.

The rest of the movie was a rollercoaster of quick scares and empathy. The clown had taken Beverly in the time that Mia hadn’t been able to watch the film. Stuttering-Bill’s determination to save her brought the rest of the Losers’ Club back together for one last confrontation with fear itself. When they got close they wound up confronted with their familiar bully instead. The bully nearly killed them. In the end Mike’s heroism wound up getting the bully killed instead. As he fell down the pit that the rest of the club was trapped down, Jason scoffed a little too loudly, garnering more attention than he was prepared for. He coughed, clearing his throat, and explained, “That was a total waste of ammo.”

“Jay!”

“What? They’re going to face that…that THING! I wouldn’t go down there if I had my full arsenal on me, and here they go with only one shot in the chamber!”

“You’re the worst.”

Jason stiffened at Dick’s statement. “Yeah, well, you let a clown bash your head in and then tell me you wouldn’t carry a machine gun and a machete on you if you had to confront a freaky ass monster version of him like this thing.”

That shut Dick up, but Jason fully expected a lecture after the movie. Their brotherly relationship had been somewhat restored by his time at the Tower. Or that’s what Dick believed. Jason felt more like his old idol was finally coming to terms with the fact that his successor might not be completely out of his mind.

Dick didn’t have to admit that murder might be the way—Jason would never expect that from the golden boy—but it was gratifying to know that Dick wasn’t as convinced of the need for Jason’s probation. Every step made with Dick, however, often was coupled with an opportunity to take three steps back as well. This was one of those times. Bonding with Cassandra had gained a lot of points (when he didn’t encourage her more violent tendencies). But preaching violence during her first movie experience?

“I’m going to get more popcorn,” Jason mumbled, already accepting his own stupid mistake. “Need anything?”

Mia shook her head a little too vigorously and pulled her knees up to her chest. Jason shuffled behind their little viewing area to hide in the kitchen. After making sure that everyone was focused on the movie, he went right to Beast Boy’s secret stash and poured himself and his green friend a couple drinks in solo cups. Forgetting about the popcorn entirely, he made his way back over. Determined to get the sneaked drinks through, he didn’t pay attention to the movie and was caught off guard when Dick caught his arm after he handed one drink over the couch to Beast Boy. “The fuck’s your problem?” he said in a harsh whisper.

“Jason…”

Jason’s eyes flicked to Kori, who was looking at the screen with a hand over her mouth. He didn’t get what the issue was until he finally looked back at the movie. Stuttering-Bill was facing his little brother Georgie; his arm missing and his little yellow raincoat still on. Georgie sobbed and pleaded with his brother. He just wanted to go home. He was scared. He’d been hurt.

Bill held up Mike’s slaughter-house gun—the one that Jason had chided the film over not a few moments earlier—and pointed it as his beloved brother.

Dick’s fingers dug painfully into Jason’s bicep, but he didn’t dare pull away. He felt frozen where he stood. He didn’t feel a personal connection to Georgie. Sure, there was that coincidence they shared: death by clown. Of course, Jason wasn’t an innocent little kid when it had happened to him. Now did he talk to a stranger and get dragged away.

He’d taken on the life of a vigilante. He’d disobeyed Batman’s orders.

He didn’t die quickly…

But to Dick, Georgie may as well have been that second Robin.

That boy he and Bruce couldn’t save.

That empty room in the manor.

BANG!

Jason finally pulled his arm away, nearly spilling his drink in the process. Dick’s nails had broken skin, and now he sat trembling with Kori too nervous to comfort him. “Seriously?” Jason leaned down so that his face was right next to Dick’s and whispered. “That little kid? The one the stupid stutterer shot? He’s about to get up as a monster.”

“You’re…not a monster,” Dick muttered.

Jason scoffed. Of all the times for his brother to claim that, during an emotional scene in a movie wasn’t what he needed to regain a little ground with his brother. “That’s not the little brother who died,” Jason noted. “Shit, that’s like saying Joker and I are the same person. It’s just the clown showing Bill his greatest fear.”

“Killing a brother…that’s…pretty scary.”

Jason got close enough that his lips just barely brushed against Dick’s ear as he said, “We both know you couldn’t kill me if you tried.”

Dick shuddered, and Jason marched back around to his spot confidently, knowing full well that his sexual preferences made Dick nervous more often than not. 

Beast Boy, still determined to stay in Cassie’s lap, had morphed into a little monkey to hold onto his cup, and he offered Jason a fist bump as he settled back onto the floor. Mia had put some space between them now, but she quickly reconsidered when she smelled the whiskey on his breath. They shared the drink and relished in the Losers’ Club’s victory.

The movie started to draw to a close on a lighter note. Summer was over. It had been defeated. It was time for them to move on. Some of them were moving away. Others just wanted to put it all behind them. But they still all agreed that, if It was ever to return, so would they. They promised to come back and face It once again to put an end to the Derry Town Tragedies. They cut their hands and made a pact, then they separated and the sweet innocence that was lost that summer seemed, if only briefly, to have been restored.

{The End of Chapter One.}

“No waaaaay.” Wally had been the first to speak.

“It’s going to happen again?” Jaime, clinging to a pillow, was the next. “How can it get any worse?”

“Twenty-some years later, ‘It’ will happen again,” Raven confirmed. “And they’ll return to face their fears again.”

“Well they beat them once, right?” Beastboy noted. “They’ll just do it again. That doesn’t seem all that cinematic.”

“What’re you scared of?” Donna asked. “Because the things that scared me as a little girl don’t scare me anymore.”

“So, what, they’re going to be attacked by student loans and taxes?” Mia joked.

Damian stood up and exclaimed, “I, for one, would like to see the next chapter.”

Cassie nodded excitedly. “Very good film,” she said softly. “Part two?”

“Not out yet,” Wally confirmed, checking his phone.

“Seriously? But now I’m curious,” Conner whined. “I mean, for a movie, that wasn’t half bad. Totally unrealistic, of course—”

“—says the guy who can shoot lasers from his eyes,” Mia teased.

The debate passed on for at least an hour after the credits ended. In the end they were all in agreement; they wanted to see the next one together if only to feel a sort of satisfactory conclusion to the story they’d all become so invested in.

Though the Tower easily had the equipment to set up for a full theatrical release sort of experience, it was widely agreed that it would be a great opportunity to take Cassie out to her first movie theater experience.

That was about when Jason decided to check out. He let Mia snag another sip before downing his drink and slinking off to his room.

No one had meant to exclude him. They didn’t even know when the sequel was due to hit theaters. But his “probation” didn’t have an end-date. For all he knew, Batman planned to keep him there forever; a prisoner of time in a house of youth. He was certain there were old fairytales like that (though any instances that came to mind involved princesses in his position).

The notion brought him to the bookshelves in his room. He hadn’t picked anything up out of spite for the nauseating nostalgia—it was one thing that his room at the Manor had been largely left alone in his absence like a shrine to who he was; it was worse to have the exact recreation of that same room set up elsewhere. It was bad enough that Bruce had forced him to stay at the Tower, but to recreate his childhood room there? It had taken Jason weeks just to adjust to the idea of sleeping there. But he DID enjoy books.

As much as he read the Art of War as a sort of meditative practice, it had felt rather redundant as of late. And after Cassie had stolen it and he’d created a dramatic scene over the whole incident, it seemed like maybe picking up a different book would be a healthy alternative to memorizing his mentor’s old tome any further.

Running his fingers along the spines of the books brought forth another wave of bitter-sweet nostalgia, rising like bile in the back of his throat. His mind rebelled against giving anyone the satisfaction of knowing he’d accepted the gift. It was a bad idea. Like showing his stomach to the alpha. It just wasn’t something that he could bring himself to do.

Then he saw IT.

Easily the largest book on the shelves and yet with the shortest title. He took it out and felt a sense of quiet amusement as the pristine shelf was ruined by the large gap left behind. Pride be damned. This was IT. He could read through the book, get a feel for it, and have all the answers for the part of the movie that hadn’t been released yet.

**Author's Note:**

> Hallo again!
> 
> I'm desperate to write more for my stories on here, but my dumbass decided to give NaNoWriMo a try this year and I have shocking news: I APPARENTLY STILL HATE DEADLINES! It's like a stupid mental block...
> 
> Anywho, I was going to lose my mind if I didn't get to post anything here this month, so I went ahead and put up this little side story I scribbled out while watching my favorite recent American horror flick a little while back. Per usual, I've combed through it for errors and made a few adjustments along the way.
> 
> This is my way of trying to let people know that I haven't forgotten my other works, I just grossly overestimated my ability to handle NaNoWriMo without messing up my schedule much... I swear, they're all still fresh on my mind and I've been trying to get in a bit here and there between every few thousands words of catch-up I play with my NaNoWriMo work...
> 
> For anyone who's confused: this was posted before Cassandra Cain's introduction to the team. It had been discussed with QueenOfThePirates a while back, so I can trust that it's mostly true to her intentions with that chapter. This also takes place before the described "intimate moment" between Jason and Mia was posted. That scene has also been written but takes place after Cass' introduction to the team. Sorry for messing with the order of things. 
> 
> PS. This is meant as a one-shot, but may very likely turn into a collection of mundane moments with the team (being the Teen Titans team from "Probation"). We'll see...


End file.
